Letter from President George M. Modlin to Robert R. Toone

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This was the second of two letters between Robert R. Toone, Chairman of the Board of Deacons at Ashland Baptist Church, and Dr. George M. Modlin, President of the University of Richmond; the correspondence referred to a "demonstration" where a University of Richmond students held up a sign that stated, "King Cong Died for our Sins," which was part of a mock protest by the pledges of Phi Delta Theta. Sent on March 20, 1968, Modlin's response to Toone's letter called the parody protest a "so-called demonstration," which ignored the point that since it was a mockery of activists, the pledges were demonstrating against activism. The fraternity president and pledges involved in the incident wrote Modlin letters of apology; they claimed that they thought the sign was innocuous and did not intend to commit blasphemy. Modlin believed the students and asked Toone to forgive them for "they know not what they do." He ignored the fraternity's intent to mock activists and did not hold them accountable for their actions.